Morocco profile - Timeline

Spain suppressed an uprising against its rule in northern Morocco in the 1920s

10-17th Centuries - Dynasties and religious movements come and go, including the Almoravid movement which at its peak controlled Morocco and parts of present-day Algeria and Spain.

1860 - Dispute over Spain's Ceuta enclave; Spain declares war, wins a further enclave and an enlarged Ceuta in the settlement.

1884 - Spain creates a protectorate in coastal areas of Morocco.

1904 - France and Spain carve out zones of influence.

1906 - Algeciras Conference in Spain; France and Spain get the go-ahead to police Moroccan ports and collect customs fees.

French protectorate

1930: France's Resident-General decorates the future King Hassan II

1912 - Morocco becomes a French protectorate under the Treaty of Fez, administered by a French Resident-General. Spain continues to operate its coastal protectorate. The sultan has a largely figurehead role.

1921-6 - Tribal rebellion in Rif mountains is suppressed by French and Spanish troops.

1943 - Istiqlal - Party of Independence - founded to press for independence.

1956 March - End of French protectorate after unrest and strong nationalist sentiment. Spain keeps its two coastal enclaves. Sultan Mohammed becomes king in 1957.

1961 - Death of King Mohammed; King Hassan II comes to power.

1963 - First general elections.

1965 - Social unrest: King Hassan declares a state of emergency and suspends parliament.

1971 - Failed attempt to depose king and establish republic.

Polisario movement

1973 - Polisario movement formed, aims to establish an independent state in Spanish Sahara, a territory south of Morocco controlled by Spain. The group has Algerian support.

1975 December - Spain agrees to leave Spanish Sahara, soon to become Western Sahara, and to transfer it to joint Moroccan-Mauritanian control. Algeria objects and threatens military intervention. Moroccan forces enter and occupy the territory.

Conflict over Western Sahara

Polisario soldiers seeking independence waged a guerrilla war against Morocco

1976 - Moroccan and Algerian troops clash in Western Sahara. Algeria announces the formation of the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) with a government-in-exile. Morocco and Mauritania divide-up Western Sahara.

1976 onwards - Fighting between Moroccan military and Polisario forces; the war is a considerable financial drain on Morocco.

1983 - Summit between King Hassan and Algerian president prompts thaw in relations.

1984 - Morocco leaves the Organisation of African Unity in protest at the SADR's admission to the body. Polisario claims to have killed more than 5,000 Moroccan soldiers between 1982-85.

1988 - Resumption of full diplomatic relations with Algeria.

Sahara ceasefire

1991 - UN-monitored ceasefire begins in Western Sahara, but the territory's status remains undecided and ceasefire violations are reported. The following decade sees much wrangling over a proposed referendum on the future of the territory but the deadlock is not broken.

1998 - Morocco's first opposition-led government comes to power.

1999 - King Hassan II is succeeded by his son, Mohammed VI.

2001 November - King Mohammed starts a controversial tour of Western Sahara, the first by a Moroccan monarch for a decade.

2002 July - Morocco and Spain agree to US-brokered resolution over the disputed island of Perejil. Spanish troops had taken the normally-uninhabited island after Moroccan soldiers landed on it and set up tents and a flag.

2002 December - Morocco and Spain hold their first talks since their conflict over Perejil. In January 2003 they agree to return ambassadors.

2003 February - Casablanca court jails three Saudi members of al-Qaeda for 10 years after they were accused of plotting to attack US and British warships in the Straits of Gibraltar.

Casablanca bombings

2003 May - More than 40 killed when suicide bombers attack several sites in Casablanca, including a Spanish restaurant and Jewish community centre.

Suicide bombers killed 43 people in the 2003 Casablanca attacks

2004 February - Powerful earthquake hits the north; more than 500 people are killed.

2004 July - Free trade agreement with the US comes into effect. It follows Washington's designation of Morocco as a major non-Nato ally.

2009 July - Alleged al-Qaeda leader in Morocco, Belgian-Moroccan Abdelkader Belliraj, imprisoned for life on being found guilty of leading an Islamist militant group and committing six murders in Belgium.

"Arab Spring" protests

2011 February - Thousands of people rally in Rabat and other cities calling for political reform and a new constitution curbing the powers of the king.

2011 April - 17 people - mainly foreigners - are killed in a bomb attack on a Marrakech cafe. It is Morocco's deadliest blast in eight years. The Maghreb arm of al-Qaeda denies involvement.

2011 July - King Mohammed scores a landslide victory in a referendum on a reformed constitution he proposed to placate "Arab Spring" protests. Demonstrators continue to call for deeper reforms.

2011 October - Court sentences man to death for bombing of tourist cafe in Marrakech in April.

2011 November - Parliamentary elections won by moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD).

2012 January - New coalition headed by PJD leader Abdelilah Benkirane is installed.

2012 May - Tens of thousands take part in Casablanca trade union rally, the largest since the new government took office in January. Participants accuse Prime Minister Benkirane of failing to deliver on reforms.

Close ties

King Mohammed VI, right, meets Spain's King Juan Carlos on his state visit to Morocco in July 2013. The trip reflected close ties between Morocco and its biggest trading partner.

2013 January - Government backs changing penal code article that allows rapists of underage girls to avoid prosecution by marrying their victims. Follows suicide of 16-year-old girl forced to marry her rapist.

2013 April - Morocco cancels joint military exercises with the US over Washington's backing for UN monitoring of human rights in Western Sahara. Morocco calls the proposed monitoring an attack on its sovereignty.

2013 October - King appoints new government following a power-sharing deal forged by Prime Minister Abdelila Benkirane months after his governing coalition was hit by the resignation of one of its partners.

2013 September - News site editor Ali Anouzla arrested for publishing a video which was attributed to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and which accused the king of being corrupt and oppressive.

2014 February - Morocco suspends judicial co-operation with France following a diplomatic row over lawsuits in Paris that accuse the kingdom's intelligence chief Abdellatif Hammouchi of complicity in torture.

2014 May - Spain says a thousand migrants tried to enter the Spanish territory of Melilla, in North Africa, from Morocco.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights during a visit urges Morocco to do more to improve its human rights record.

2014 October - Morocco summons the Algerian ambassador after a shooting incident at the border. The borders between Morocco and Algeria have been closed since 1994, and relations have remained tense because of the longstanding dispute over the territory of Western Sahara.

2014 November - Morocco is disqualified from the 2015 African Cup of Nations after refusing to host the tournament over concerns about the spread of ebola.

2015 March - Government says security services dismantle network of militants linked to Islamic State group.